DOVER-FOXCROFT– The Maine Transgender Network (MaineTransNet) will present its “Tour for Trans Allies” on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3:30 p.m. at the Center Theater in Dover-Foxcroft. The event is free and open to all local community members.

The two-hour workshop will include a presentation on basic terminology, an interactive discussion on how to ask for, and use ,a transgender person’s pronouns, and a group discussion on what it means to be an ally to transgender people in Maine. Following the presentation, participants can ask questions to a panel of local transgender people and allies about their lives and what it’s like to be transgender in rural Maine.

This workshop is part of MaineTransNet’s “Tour for Trans Allies,” a series of events designed to build up transgender allyship in rural communities across Maine where transgender people are more likely to be socially isolated. In 2018, MaineTransNet will provide this workshop at least once in all 16 counties.

“Over the years, we’ve learned that our community is strongest when we have the support of a deep bench of allies,” says Quinn Gormley, MaineTransNet’s executive director. “And with our current political environment we want to make sure we have as many allies as we can get in every corner of Maine.”

Allies play an important role in transgender people’s lives, especially in rural communities. According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey, 41% of transgender people attempt suicide in their lifetimes–often when faced with discrimination and isolation. This risk is reduced when transgender people have supportive allies among their friends, family, and employers.

But allyship is not easy for many people.“I hear from people all over Maine that they are not sure how to be allies,” says Gormley. “They don’t understand our community or its needs, and they’re afraid of offending someone by saying the wrong thing. We’re doing the tour so people can ask all their questions, and learn how to be supportive.”

For more information on this event, call MaineTransNet at (207) 370-0359, or visit www.mainetransnet.org.

Founded in 2005, MaineTransNet is a transgender led community organization working to support and empower transgender people to create a world where they can thrive.